Enigmas Song

As I did so often before, I wished, I could purr like a cat. A cat would have hushed the weeping of the childlike creature in my arms in no time. But without this feline superpower, what could I do? Depression & Art, it came back to me, wasn’t that the subject of this test? I started to hum – I know, that is not very artsy, but it was the simplest thing, I could come up with. I hummed a little bit around and found a melody, just a tiny one, but I managed to re-hum it a few times. The melody grew, and my voice got more volume. And as the melody developed into a song, I noticed a soft glow around us, growing stronger with every tone. In this shy light I discovered a flower right beside me. Its blossom had the shape of a bell. I reached out for it and with my fingernail I tipped it softly. A fairylike ting sprang from it and with it there rose a charming sparkle of glittery silver. And the glow around us brightened. Ting, there it was again and I embedded it into the melody, Ting. The sobbing in my arms had stopped. A curious hand appeared and reached for another blossom, now appearing in our warm glow. Ting, ting, ting, ring, ring ring. It was a lovely charm. The silver sparkles danced so beautiful to our melody – yes it was our melody now. In growing light I could now see, who I was holding. It was a beautiful girl with flaming locks and two of the most impressive horns, I have ever seen. Her tears dried quickly, as a kind smile showed on her lips. With a voice soft as a rainbow, strong as thunder, she began to sing: “Oh, little bell in the darkness, can you hear my step? Oh, little blossom in the wood, can you hear my cry for help? Sing your song, I will sing along, show me your beauty, show me your pain!” And as if we were trapped in a musical, I just started to sing along, finding her words on the way. “We are all dancing through darkness, we are all looking for more. Let us cry and sing and laugh and be free, like the rain and the sun and the storm.”

The horned girl looked up and smiled at me: “I haven’t been able to sing for quite a while”, she said, glowing with joy, lighting the dark around us in reddish warmth. She hugged me again, before she stood up, her hair now flaming like fire. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, opened her mouth and then she sang a tone so beautiful and strong, that everything around us lightened up, showing a charming place of magical forest, with trees and flowers and birds and everything. As she stood there proud and strong, she seemed young, but not like a child anymore. “Thank you”, she said to me and I replied a bit shy: “I have to thank you.”
She smiled: “My name is Enigma. We will meet again!”

“That would be great”, I heard myself saying. Enigma made a majestic move with her head and transformed in an instant into a beautiful creature between deer and antelope. Her mane still fiery, she jumped in the bushes, and disappeared with the grace of magic. I am not sure, what I was doing next, I only remember coming back from that place almost vomiting in front of my beautiful muse. I fell back on the bench and almost back into darkness, but the muse caught me and pressed a cold can of Red Bull against my forehead.

“That was good”, she said. “You passed the test. You are now officially my apprentice.”

I tried to smile, but I was almost too exhausted to do so.

“Have a little rest”, her voice said softly. “Have a rest, but listen. Your next task is to find someone you can help – yes we are going straight into practise! I want everything you plan for that person presented in a professional way. And I don’t want to meet you here in reality, I want you to make a place for us to sit down. I like beautiful places, warm but with fresh air, so keep that in mind!”

I remember me nodding, as if it was clear to me, what she was talking about.

“And then I want you to find another mortal muse you have never met in person. I want a presentation about how this person inspires you.”

I was still dizzy, but I nodded for sure.

“And then”, she came closer, her voice, a demanding whisper “and then I want you to think about, when you will be ready to tell me about the time you met this faun in real life. I know, you are trying to hide him, but I am a muse. No faun can be hidden from a muse!”